There are many reasons why you might want to password protect a PDF file. It’s a sensitive work document that you don’t want anyone to see. Maybe it’s a proposal for a new project that you want people to read but not copy or print. At work, PDFs still dominate, and here’s how you can hold the key to it.
Understanding user passwords and permissions
In the PDF spec, there are two types of passwords: User and Permissions. The user password is the same as the password for your PC. You need it to get in. If you don’t have it, tough lucky guy, you won’t get in.
The permission password is the same as the administrator password. With a user password, you can enter and can access a subset of features, but you are not allowed to move furniture around.
Enter password Permissions let you do things like copy text from a document, print it out, or edit the document.
So if all you want to do is prevent someone from reading your PDF, but once they’re in there they can do anything, use the User password. Permission Password protects sensitive data in documents from being leaked out. Of course you can use both on one document.
Let’s take a look at 4 apps that will help you encrypt your PDF files.
1. Preview on Mac
As we said before, Preview is OS X’s hidden gem. It can do a lot of things. One of the things it can do is export the document as a password-protected PDF. To do this, first open the PDF in Preview, go to Document and choose Export or Export as PDF.
Then click encode button, enter the password and click Export.
2. PDFProtect.com
While the built-in functionality in Preview is certainly welcome, it’s not enough for everyone. What if you don’t want to protect the entire PDF file, but only want to limit copying or printing of text? Well, you will need a Permissions password.
Now a tool like Adobe Acrobat will let you do this (Adobe Reader won’t) but you don’t want to spend money on it. Not when you can get it done online for free.
Visit PDFProtect.com (make sure you’re using the HTTPS protocol if the document contains personal information) to get started.
Here, click Advance setting and enter your user password or permissions. The great thing about PDFProtect is that it makes things easy.
You can choose the exact permissions you want to give this document. You can not restrict, restrict editing pages or lock all content. While protecting documents, encryption also plays an important role. PDFProtect will let you choose between 40-bit RCA, 120-bit RCA and 120-bit AES. AES is the strongest and the industry standard for this kind of thing.
Using the check marks, you can also disable text copying.
When it comes to importing PDF files, you can choose Dropbox, Google Drive, or your computer.
3. CutePDF Editor
CutePDF Editor is an impressive PDF editor, especially since it’s completely online. CutePDF also lets you encrypt files from here (but strangely not from their free desktop app).
Once you’ve uploaded your PDF, go to Protect and first give the master password and then the user password. You can check if you want to disable copying, editing and more from the options below.
When done, press Rescue and you’re good to go.
4. Free PDF Merger PDFMate for Windows
It’s a little-known name but it’s a free app for Windows that gets the job done. You’ll need to be cautious when installing this freeware, though, as it tries to sneak in some crapware in the form of Norton antivirus. On that settings page, click Customs instead of Show.
Once up and running, Add files using the button at the top. For us, it’s just a file.
Below you will see options for open password And permission password. Check those fields and write the password. By default, the application disables copying, editing, and printing features. But if you want to turn them on, there’s a switch. Click Build and your PDF will be generated.
How are you hiding?
What is your favorite way to hide files, documents, or encrypted content? Let us know in the comments below.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
